𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄

Chapter 3

Chapter Three: To Betray

Very few had permission to enter Voldemort's 'study'. Whenever they changed locations, Voldemort chose a room to use as his study and stayed there most of the time. To memory, Severus could only remember five people who'd been given permission, and there were only three who didn't need the Dark Lord's presence to enter the room.

Luckily for him, Severus happened to be one of the fortunate three who could enter, even when Voldemort wasn't there.

He was made aware by Albus that there was another task that Potter had to complete before he could kill Voldemort. Albus never told him what it was, though, but Severus had a feeling it had something to do with the ring that had killed Albus' hand.

So whenever he got the chance to, he raided through Voldemort's study with the hopes of finding some clue as to what this extra task was. He knew Potter would have trouble doing it on his own and could use help from more than just his teenage friends.

Nimble hands moved over the bookshelf this time. He'd already gone through the desk in the centre of the room. Three drawers had been locked, but he knew that the locks were just a ruse. After working for the monster for so many years, Severus knew that the locks were just to tempt the foolish into thinking that that was where the good stuff was hidden. No, Severus had found greater information from random sheets of parchment left on the desk, or a bookmark that was hidden somewhere.

It hadn't taken much thought for him to decide that he was taking Draco out of the manor that night. They were in the Malfoy Manor-it was such an obvious location that Voldemort knew the Aurors wouldn't be bothered searching for him there-and Severus knew the place back to front. He knew where all the escape routes were, better than Voldemort did.

Once he found what he was after, he'd leave Voldemort's services forever. He'd take Draco back to Hogwarts before he was even awake and leave him with the Order. It was a great risk, but it was one he had to take. If Minerva or Lupin were there, he knew that they'd at least give him the chance to explain himself. Merlin forbid if Moody or any of the Weasleys spotted him first, though. They'd curse him on sight and send Draco straight to the Dementors.

So he moved as fast as he could, searching through the tomes on the bookshelf. He knew most of Lucius' texts, so he was looking for something different. Maybe something he'd seen before from previous raids. He was hopeful that he still kept a journal after he left the first one to Lucius.

His hands stopped abruptly. "Shit," he hissed out, realising that he was searching for something already in Hogwarts. "Fuck."

Severus rearranged everything so it looked like he'd never been there, going through Voldemort's possessions.

And then something caught his attention. There was one book hidden between a guide for the dark arts and a guide for healing injuries. He knew both were Lucius' (Draco was prone to injuring himself when he was younger. Severus had been called up more than once to deal with Draco's clumsiness-that had thankfully disappeared by the time he was nine), but he'd seen the red leather covering on the other book elsewhere. He'd seen it in Voldemort's previous study-he knew that for sure.

Steadily, he pulled it from the shelf and waved his wand over it, searching for any curses that might harm him or alert Voldemort to his treachery. When he found none, he opened it and found page after page of scribbles. They were just notes, with the occasional spell here and there, but it all seemed harmless. It wasn't until he got a third of the way in when he found something that caught his attention. It was a detailed recollection of the search for Salazar Slytherin's locket and then a cup Helga Hufflepuff once owned.